A pre-requisite of sporting flicks, where the competitor or team (usually the underdog, see David vs. Goliath) seems to be on the way down, until a pivotal moment happens (often a case of Put Me In, Coach!), after which the team stages, yes, a miraculous comeback ending in victory.

Of course, this is a case of Truth in Television - several teams and individuals in the history of organized sports have, in fact, accomplished nearly impossible comebacks to win games no one thought they could possibly win anymore. The National Hockey League, for example, has seen at least five teams turn 50 scores against them into 65 victories - the Los Angeles Kings in 1982 against the Edmonton Oilers (the so-called "Miracle on Manchester"), the Colorado Avalanche against the Florida Panthers in 1999note In this case, Colorado won 75, the St. Louis Blues against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2000, the Montreal Canadiens in 2008 against the New York Rangers, and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009 against the Calgary Flames.

In an Iron Chef-style cooking contest with the special ingredient being mushrooms, Akiyama Tokino eats everything her team has made; they then have five minutes to come back, with only one (poisonous) type of mushroom left. The team then succeeds in perfectly preparing the mushroom, removing the poison and winning the contest by maximizing the mushroom's taste.

In a 7 vs. 4 war game, 4 of the opponents switch sides, allowing the protagonists to win.

In a contest to see which team can get more page hits over the course of an hour, the opposing team keeps putting up drawings of cute anime-style girls; with 15 minutes left, the protagonists (three of whom are girls) start a live webcam with the girls wearing bikinis and go on to win.

Ah! My Goddess TV: The NIT Auto Club is running into trouble in a desert rally race against the NIT Four Wheels Club; the Auto Club is in a claptrap three-wheeler, driven by Keiichi, while the Four Wheels Club is in a larger car driven by a professional off-road racer. The turning point comes when the three-wheeler is capable of driving along a bulkhead that serves as an excellent shortcut, while the Four Wheels Club's car bogs down in a dune. (In a way, this is literally a "miracle rally", as the Auto Club has two goddesses on its side... and only Belldandy's magic holds the three-wheeler together to the finish line.)

Most duels in Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX will have the hero being beaten for most of the game, until he pulls an astounding move to claim victory.

Although there are many 'false' turning points that lead one to believe that the hero has won as the baddie makes a extremely surprised face, only to find that 5 seconds later, the baddie is chuckling at their futile attempt.

Happens on a regular basis in Major. The main character, Goro, often finds himself involved in (if not leading) a Miracle Rally due to always ending up on underdog teams (usually by his own choice - he thrives on the challenge of playing against the best).

Happens in the "If we lose this it means The End of the World as We Know It" Baseball game in Haruhi Suzumiya. Admittedly this is because Yuki cheats and modifies the attribute data of the baseball bat the team uses ('Homing Mode'). Kyon asks her to disable it afterwards, and the team go right back to sucking again... but they still win. And then forfeit, because Haruhi's had her fun. And then Kyon sells the other team the bat.

Subverted in Madonna, where the protagonists nearly come back from a 400 halftime deficit in the rugby tournament semifinals only to fail to score the winning try as time expires.

In episode 14 of Gundam Build Fighters, after breaking free from the enemy Gunpla that was holding them up, Sei and Reiji active Star Build Strike's Discharge Mode and make a mad dash for the finish line. Subverted since unfortunately for them, it's Discharge Mode runs out of juice in the final straight, causing Star Build to come in second place.

The Dragon Ball franchise runs off this. The movies take it Up to Eleven, with the plots invariably being "powerful enemy appears, powerful enemy ('s henchmen) fights weaker warriors, powerful enemy steps in and overwhelms everyone, Goku (or Gohan) gains power at the last minute to save the day."

Fan Fiction

The Fruits Basket college football fic "Jimmy & Kyo". UCF vs Ohio State. UCF takes an early 1410 lead at the end of the first quarter before going down 2414 at halftime and 3114 after the second half kick-off. Then, they pull off two unanswered touchdowns and after a nerve-wrecking drive by Ohio State, take a 3531 lead with less than 10 seconds left and win.

The Waterboy: The pivotal moment being Bobby Boucher's arrival at the Bourbon Bowl at halftime

In both of the first two Major League movies, the Indians start their Miracle Rally when Pedro Cerrano hits a game-changing home run on an 0-2 count when he'd missed the first two pitches by a mile. The sequel also counts as a Perspective Flip: the Indians race out to a 30 lead in their postseason series only for Chicago to rally and force Game 7.

Rocky: Rocky Balboa, several times across the series. (Though it's harder to determine whether someone is 'losing' or not in boxing then it is in other sports since there's no real scoring system - yes, the judges do keep score, but they don't determine anything unless no one wins straight out.)

Every Disney movie involving a rookie sports player ever.

In Lonesome Jim, the protagonist gets to train a girl's basketball team (previously trained by his suicidal brother.) They've been losing all their games. After he gives them an inspirational speech, they do score! It's all very stirring. Then cut to the end of the game: they haven't scored a single point since and have been defeated once more. It's very funny.

First in the Average Joes' penultimate match; Gordon, alone on the floor against five or six college athletes, flies into a rage upon seeing his mail-order bride flirting with another man (David Hasselhoff) in the stands. He then proceeds to beat down the other team on his own, screaming like a madman.

The final match does this again. Justin is the last Joe standing against Globo Gym— he makes a miraculous catch to bring Kate off the bench, who within two seconds catches a ball to bring Peter in and give Average Joe's a 32 player advantage.

In The Replacements (2000), the Sentinels come back when A) Shane Falco returns as their quarterback, and B) the coach makes it clear that since none of them will still be football players tomorrow, the rules are a bit ... looser regarding their conduct on the field.

Literature

Frequently subverted in Roy MacGregor's Screech Owls series, where the Screech Owls hockey team (despite almost always being the underdog) win and lose tournaments in a fairly realistic manner.

In of Season 14 of The Amazing Race, Jaime & Cara got lost twice looking for clues on the penultimate leg, almost guaranteeing their elimination. Kisha & Jen got lost themselves, and got U-Turned, but still went into the Roadblock with a huge lead on the cheerleaders. Things looked over until Jen struggled with the Foreign Queasine Roadblock, then had herself a Potty Emergency. Meanwhile, Jaime & Cara got an amazing cab driver, Cara blazed through the Roadblock, and they managed to steal the last spot in the Final 3 while Jen was in the bathroom.

Uchenna & Joyce's karmically fueled comeback to win Season 7, which they did despite having no money to start the leg and having to beg for money to pay their cab driver at the Finish Line. They actually talked their way onto a flight after it was closed and the pilot had pulled away from the gate.

Also on Season 7, Debbie & Bianca came close, but ultimately failed, in leg 3. They got lost early in the leg, drove two hours in the wrong direction, and then had to drive two more to get back on course. Still, when they got to the four pounds of meat Roadblock, there were still four teams sitting there (three having already quit the challenge, while the fourth was contemplating it). Debbie scarfed down her four pounds of meat, yet they were ultimately eliminated by a matter of minutes.

Pinball

It's possible to pull this off in Williams Electronics' Joust pinball machine; the end of the game started a 30-second scoring frenzy, giving each player received unlimited balls to score as many points as they could.

Gottlieb's James Bond 007 was a time-based pinball game that could award a free game with one shot. It was only active after the player ran out of time, when the next drain would end the game.

Poetry

Subverted in "Casey at the Bat". A series of mediocre players make it to base, and it looks like Mudville will come back at the last moment. Then their team hero, Casey, strikes out, losing the game.

Video Games

A frequent complaint by players of Madden NFL Football is that computer teams that the player was beating handily will become nearly unstoppable in the final minutes (see also Rubber Band AI).

Western Animation

A standard part of the story formula of the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon show where the team is put in an unusual playing venue and they fall hopelessly behind in the first half. However, the team always finds a way to even the odds, and suddenly they are invincible in the second half and win.

Hey Arnold!!, "Mudbowl": With the 4th graders trailing the 5th graders 420 at halftime of a game of (American) football, the pivotal moment is Phoebe switching in Arnold as quarterback to replace Helga.

Subversion: Rocket Power, "Power Play": A roller hockey game is going on in which the winner will get to play with NHL stars. With the main characters' team trailing their rivals 40 with 13 minutes remaining, the pivotal moment is the team putting in Sam, their regular goalie, to replace Lars (a more aggresive goalie without The Power of Friendship). They end up fighting back to 43 in the final minute, prompting one of the stars to comment "What a comeback! One of the best I've ever seen." Unfortunately, when Otto puts in a shot from long distance at the horn, it's disallowed, making for a Downer Ending.

Subverted in the South Park episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride," when Stan makes it back to the game in time to lead the South Park Cows to a touchdown so that they only lose by 70 points (and cover the spread).

Subverted and Mocked on The Simpsons. Homer is being pounded in the boxing ring by a No Celebrities Were Harmed Mike Tyson when Marge charges the ring to tell him to fight back. The music swells as Homer defiantly declares "I've got to knock. him. out." He takes one slow-motion haymaker...and misses wildly, letting Drederick Tatum have another free shot.

On November 10, 1984, in his college years, he led Maryland over Miami 4240 after being behind 310 at halftime.

And, of course, in the January 3, 1993 NFL playoff game, sparked the Buffalo Bills' rally over the Houston Oilers, winning 4138 (in overtime) after being behind 353 early in the third quarter. At the time they started their comeback, the Bills starting quarterback (Jim Kelly), running back (Thurman Thomas), and middle linebacker (Cornelius Bennett) were all out of the game with injuries.

Brett Favre was famous for this during his tenure as quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. The worst place for an opponent to be was up by a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

A statistical study showed Favre to actually be merely above-average at fourth-quarter rallies. Dan Marino is a better example, holding the record for come back wins in the 4th quarter, as are John Elway and (surprisingly) his successor with the Broncos, Jake Plummer. The best current example is probably Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.

And this study lists the best comeback quarterback of the last decade as...walking punchline and Annoying Younger Sibling Eli Manning? He's done this twice in the Super Bowl, both games against the Patriots. The first one ended a previously-undefeated season from the Patriots, the second capped a league record for 4th quarter touchdown passes in a single season, and both featured physics-defying plays to pull it off.

Super Bowl XLIII featured a Miracle Rally by both teams in the fourth quarter, both rallies being different types. Trailing 207 halfway through the fourth quarter, the Arizona Cardinals scored two touchdowns and a safety to take a 2320 lead with only two and a half minutes left. Just when it seemed that this was Underdogs Never Lose at its finest, the Pittsburgh Steelers mounted a single-drive Miracle Rally capped off by an amazing catch by Santonio Holmes for the game winning TD.

The 2006 Monday Night Football game where the Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals after being behind by 20 points when the second quarter started. And all of the Bears' touchdowns were earned entirely by the defense and the special teams because Rex Grossman had a horrible performance during the game. The Bears finalized their win when the Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers [who, we might add, before this was known for being a damn good kicker] missed a 40-yard field goal that would have given them the lead. The final score was 2423 for the Chicago Bears, and it was #6 on NFL.coms top 10 comebacks of all time. It also resulted in Dennis Greens epic "They are who we thought they were" meltdown. It was such an epic collapse by a team with a reputation for disappointment that even if you were a fan of the winning team, you couldn't help feeling a bit bummed.

Subverted in the January 2010 NFL wild-card game between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals, where the Packers rallied from deficits of 170 and 3110 to tie the game at 38, and then again at 45, only to lose, on all things, a touchdown scored by Arizona's defense.

During the 2006 NFL season, the Tennessee Titans were at their lowest point. Their record was 27, and by the end of the 3rd quarter against the NY Giants, they were down 21-0. All hope for a decent season (let alone a playoff appearance) seemed lost. But in the 4th quarter, the tide shift was so sudden, even the disenchanted fans were thrown back. By the last minute of regulation, The Titans scored three touchdowns total to tie the game. By the 0:30 mark, Adam "Pacman" Jones made an amazing interception to give the Titans possession again. Around the 0:07 mark, 61-yards away, the punter made a perfect kick across the field, and the ball barely crossed the field goal marker. Even Titans coach Jeff Fisher sounded surprised by the comeback during the post game interview. Even more amazingly, that game launched a second Miracle Rally of its own, with the team winning FIVE more games, gaining them a positive win-loss record. Unfortunately, despite the results of various AFC centered games working in the Titans' favor for the wild card slot, the New England Patriots ended their playoffs chances early in game 16. Interestingly enough, the 2009 season hearkened back to that year. After a 06 deficit (with game six against the Patriots ending with a brutal 590 score), the Titans won the next five games straight, and ended their season at 88; just out of playoffs reach.

The Miracle at the New Meadowlands. The Philadelphia Eagles, after trailing the New York Giants 3110 with 8:17 remaining in the 4th quarter, orchestrate an incredible comeback to tie it at 31 with 1:16 left. The Eagles defense then forces a 3-and-out by the Giants, who drain the clock down to 0:14 before calling time out. On the ensuing punt the ball is snapped high to rookie punter Matt Dodge. This forces him to rush the punt and is unable to direct the ball away from returner DeSean Jackson, who takes the punt 65 yards for the game winning touchdown with no time remaining. Final score: Eagles 38 Giants 31. This is, without question, the greatest 4th quarter comeback victory in Eagles history. Jackson's touchdown is the first of its kind in the history of the NFL (game-winning punt return TD with :00 left in regulation).

October 8, 2011, Nebraska vs Ohio State: Nebraska was down 276 midway through the third quarter when Nebraska physically took the ball away from Braxton Miller, and Taylor Martinez ran it in on the very next play, and Nebraska scored 28 unanswered points to win 3427.

The Monday Night Miracle. On October 23, 2000, fierce rivals New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played on Monday Night Football. At the end of the third quarter with the score 307 in Miami's favor, Jets broadcaster Howard David announced, "And with a whole quarter to go, this game is over." The Jets proceeded to stage a furious rally in the fourth quarter, scoring 23 unanswered points to tie the game at 30. The Dolphins went on to score again to go up 3730. Improbably, the Jets tied it again with a touchdown pass caught by offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott, playing as a tackle-eligible. Jets kicker John Hall then won the game with a field goal in overtime to complete the miracle with a 4037 victory. This was the second largest comeback in NFL history and was voted the greatest Monday Night Football game of all time.

Division II Lone Star Conference Football Championship. West Texas A&M is up 4838 with 2:55 left in the game. Midwestern State scores a touchdown in 49 seconds to make the score 4845. They kick it onside, but West Texas recovers it. However, MSU has a time out to burn, so WTAMU tries to push, but they are forced to punt. The punt snap is over the head of the punter, and MSU return it for a touchdown with 55 seconds left, and it's now 5248. A field goal will do nothing; WTAMU must score a touchdown. WTAMU takes it to the 28 yard line. The first pass is deflected, the second play, the quarterback is sacked, the third pass is intercepted with 8 seconds left, and a knee is taken to seal the victory.

Auburn 2013, facing heated rival Georgia at home, down 3837 with less than a minute to play, quarterback Nick Marshall heaves up a Hail Mary throw to sprinting Tigers receiver Ricardo Louis who couldn't see where the ball was, only for the ball to come within reach of two Bulldog defenders. Instead of knocking it down - what players are taught to do with Hail Marys - both Georgia players jump for the ball for a possible interception... only for each other to knock it up in the air. The ball literally floats over into Louis' face, who reaches up for an easy catch without breaking stride as he races into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

Topped two weeks later with the 2013 Iron Bowl, one of college football's most storied rivalries as Alabama Crimson Tide came in undefeated, atop the BCS standings, expected to win out and play for a third straight BCS title game. The Tigers play their rivals close up into the 4th quarter, tying it up 28-all. Alabama gets the ball back with little time left, but gets the ball within questionable field goal range as time expires. However, refs note the Tide running back stepped out with 1 second left, so they put the second back up. Coach Nick Saban sends out the kicking unit - which for the night had missed three field goal tries - with a freshman kicker for one more try to win the game. Auburn does the math - the kick would be 57 yards and can possibly fall short - and sends out a return unit in case that happens. The kick does fall short, Auburn's return man Chris Davis is able to outrun Alabama's kicking unit, and the entire nation goes crazy as the "Kick Six" gives Auburn the win and the division title, and knocks hated rival Alabama out of the BCS title outright.

In the final quarter of the 2013 regular season game between the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints, the Patriots are down by four points with two and a half minutes to go. This would be plenty of time for the Patriots to score, only Tom Brady throws an interception. It seems like the game is over and the Saints' defense is celebrating on the sideline. The Patriots hold the Saints to a three-and-out, giving possession back to the Patriots with 1:13 left and no time-outs left. Tom Brady systematically marches the Patriots down the field with pass after pass, even converting a fourth down along the way, culminating in a touchdown to rookie WR Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds to spare.

In the 2013 AFC Wild Card Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs dominated the game early on, taking a 3110 lead at halftime despite losing several players to injuries during the game, most notably running back Jamaal Charles. They extended the lead to 3810 early on the third quarter with a touchdown after Colts QB Andrew Luck threw an interception on the first play of the quarter, and the Chiefs' lead looked insurmountable. But after that touchdown, Luck, who had been fairly inconsistent up to that point, turned his day around and the Colts got 3 touchdowns in the third quarter. Meanwhile, The Chiefs' offense, which had dominated in the first half, was unable to do much- in the third quarter, after that first touchdown, they only managed to get a field goal on another interception. Still, they led 4131 at the end of the third quarter- then in the fourth, after another Colts touchdown and a Chiefs' field goal made it 4438, and then with a bit more than 4 minutes left, Luck completed a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. The game wasn't over yet, though, with Kansas City having plenty of time to score and only needing a field goal, but their drive was stopped near the Colts' 40-yard line, a bit outside of field goal range, and the Colts won, 4544. The 28-point comeback made it the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history, behind only the Bills-Oilers game mentioned above. And unlike that game, the ChiefsColts game ended in regulation.

The 2014 Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans game saw the record set for largest road game comeback: the Browns, losing 283 during the second quarter, went on to rally and score 26 unanswered points, winning 2928.

Super Bowl XLIX: Heading into the fourth quarter, the Seattle Seahawks led the New England Patriots 2414. Only two other teams had ever won the Lombardi Trophy after being down 10 points in the game, but both of those deficits came in the first quarter. Tom Brady led the Patriots on two touchdown drives, giving New England the lead with just over 2 minutes remaining. Their defense had to hold, however, and after a miraculous catch by Seattle receiver Jermaine Kearse put the Seahawks at the 5-yard line, and a 4-yard run by star running back Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch moved them to the 1, it was all but certain New England's comeback would be wasted. But on the next play, undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass at the goal line, preserving a win for the Patriots.

Super Bowl LI: Halfway through the third quarter, everything looked to be going perfectly for the Atlanta Falcons, who were up 28-3 against the New England Patriots. However, the Falcons had only scored twice on standard possessions, with the other two coming off turnovers, one of which was a pick-sixnote an interception immediately run back for a touchdown, and their defense had been on the field for an incredibly long time, and it began to show (they ended up playing 93 defensive snaps, 99 when you count the six which were replayed because of penalties, which is the equivalent of a game and a half's worth of snaps). They were forced to abandon the man-to-man coverage that had been working so well, and adopt the much less effective zone defense, which the Patriots immediately took advantage of, and began moving the ball almost at will, further exhausting the Falcons defense. Meanwhile, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan made the bizarre decision to not stick to run plays during the Falcons' offensive possessions and burn the remaining game time, but instead try passing the ball, which resulted in several incompletions that stopped the clock and gave the Patriots ample time to stage a comeback. They scored 31 unanswered points, including two touchdowns with a two-point conversionnote The overall success rate of a two-point conversion attempt is only 50-55%. While the Falcons had a few chances to put the game away, they were unable to do so, most especially toward the end of the fourth quarter, with only a little over three minutes left, when they were at the Patriots twenty yard line. Instead of running three times and kicking a field goal, putting them up by two scores, they attempted to pass after a 1-yard loss on a first-down run, and quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked for a huge 12-yard loss, compounded by a holding penalty on the next play that moved them back another 10 yards, putting them at about the 50-yard line and thoroughly out of field goal range, with no choice but to punt after their final pass attempt fell incomplete. New England tied the score, won the coin toss in overtime, and drove for a sudden-death touchdown to seal the comeback, 34-28.

Association Football

The 2005 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan, a.k.a. 'The Miracle of Istanbul' takes the cake. AC Milan were considered one of the best teams in the world, having multiple FIFA 100 players, a future World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner in Brazilian attacking midfielder Kaka and former Champions League winners in their line up (in the case of Clarence Seedorf, a player who'd won it three times with three different clubs), and had won the competition in 2003. Liverpool, despite their rich European history, had no FIFA 100 players, no former Champions League winners etc, and had dragged themselves to the final through sheer determination, a healthy dollop of luck and some extraordinary performances by their Captain and one world class player, Steven Gerrard, who was at the time on the point of a move to Chelsea. They weren't even going to qualify for the next season's competition. Liverpool went a goal down in less than 40 seconds and were trailing 03 at the break. Liverpool responded with a second half performance that shocked the world, scoring three goals in six minutes, holding out under Milan's onslaught for a whole hour of normal and extra time, something that included a double save from Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek that was later voted the greatest Champions League moment of all time, before going on to win 32 on penalties. Gerrard stayed at Liverpool for another ten years, becoming a club legend, Jerzy Dudek and Xabi Alonso, another member of that side, became fan favourites at Liverpool and then at Real Madrid, while Milan got their revenge in the 2007 final, winning 21. Even now, 11 years on, players on both sides still have no idea how it happened.

Liverpool have a penchant for this, especially in European matches, with the always noisy Anfield becoming a positive cauldron capable of rattling even the best players. They're known for bringing their A-Game in Europe, even (especially) when technically speaking they are completely outclassed, thriving on ridiculous odds. This is a club that tends to regard a three goal deficit against a technically superior team as a challenge, as the 'Miracle of Istanbul' and the 2016 Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg against Borussia Dortmund demonstrate. In the latter case, as with Milan, Liverpool were outside the Champions League spots and had few players of real top class, while Dortmund had comfortably qualified for the Champions League and were challenging Bayern Munich for the German title and had top players throughout their team, including one of the best front threes in Europe. The only reason Dortmund were in the Europa Leauge at all was because they'd had a bad start to the previous season which slowed them down. Liverpool had contained an out of sorts Dortmund in Germany and were level at 11 on aggregate, with a slight advantage thanks to the away goals rule. Then, they conceded two goals in the first 8 minutes to put them 31 down on aggregate, meaning that thanks to the away goals rule, they needed to win outright to go through. They pulled one back in the second half to make it 32 (21 on the night), then promptly another goal down 42 (31 on the night). With less than 30 minutes to go, they needed three goals. They promptly got those goals, winning 43 on the night and 54 on aggregate.

And these are just two of the more recent examples. Going back in time, in 1977 Liverpool were 10 down against French champions St. Etienne going into the second leg at Anfield and were consequently written off. Liverpool levelled the tie early, but St. Etienne regained the lead with a vital away goal. Liverpool had to score twice without reply to go through and promptly did, winning 31 (32 on aggregate), going on to win their first European Cup (later known as the Champions League). And on the way to the 2005 triumph, they needed to win by 2 clear goals against Greek champions Olympiakos to progress from the group stage. Going 10 down at half time, they needed 3 goals. With the score at 21, captain Steven Gerrard, after having a spectacular volley ruled out earlier, thundered in a goal ranked as one of the Champions League's best. Because of this, they're sometimes known as Europe's Comeback Kings; after the against-the-odds-victory over Borussia Dortmund in 2016, #ComeBackKings was trending on Twitter. They're also not shy of handing out thrashings; in 2007, they responded to a 10 first leg defeat by Turkish team Besiktas by breaking the Champions League's goal scoring record, obliterating them 80 and crushing Real Madrid 40 at Anfield in 2009. In short, Liverpool are not a team you want chasing a game in Europe, nor is Anfield a place where you want to make them do it.

When a similar event occurred nine years later, between a title chasing Liverpool and Crystal Palace, (Palace were 03 down, scored three goals to equalise in the last ten minutes), game was referred to as "The Miracle of Crystanbul".

Chelsea vs Stoke City, FA Premier League, 17th January 2009. Chelsea were 10 down with two minutes left, however they equalized, then with seconds remaining they scored the winner.

Manchester United vs Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final, United 10 down in injury time, score 2 goals to win the competition.

Tottenham Hotspur have been on the receiving end of these a few times in recent years. In 2001, they were 30 ahead at half time against Manchester United in a Premiership match and went on to lose 53. Two years later, and they led 30 at half time again, against Manchester City, with one of Man City's players having been sent off, and they lost 43. Two years ago, they were leading 31 away at Chelsea in an FA Cup match with 15 minutes left (although they hadn't led 30 this time), before Chelsea scored twice in twelve minutes to salvage a 33 draw. Chelsea won the replay and went on to win the competition.

San Lorenzo vs River Plate, "Libertadores" Cup, 8th May 2008. San Lorenzo were 02 with two players sent off and only 20 minutes to go and managed to make a comeback and tie the game. Since they had won the first match, they qualified for the quarterfinals.

A UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie between Chelsea and Liverpool was full of these. Chelsea had won the first leg 31 at Anfield, leaving Liverpool needing to win by three goals (or win by two goals scoring more than three). Liverpool had managed to turn over the two-goal aggregate deficit by racing into a 20 lead in the first half, needing to score just one more to progress. However, Chelsea came back to lead 32 with just fifteen minutes to go and seemingly book their place in the last four. Then Liverpool scored twice in two minutes to lead 43 and need just one more goal to go through on away goals. Chelsea then equalised with one minute left to secure a 44 draw and progress 75 on aggregate.

In a Second Division match in December 1957, Charlton Athletic were playing hosts to Huddersfield Town (then managed by future Liverpool manager Bill Shankly), and after losing their captain Derek Ufton to injury (at a time when there were no substitutes) after 17 minutes, they were trailing 51 with only 27 minutes left, with spectators leaving in droves. Then, in the space of 18 minutes, Johnny Summers scored four goals for Charlton and set Buck Ryan up for a fifth to give Charlton a 65 lead; Stan Howard equalised for Huddersfield with four minutes left, but Summers set Ryan up for a second goal with a minute left to give Charlton an astonishing 76 win. Huddersfield became the only team in professional football to score six goals in a match and still lose.

West Bromwich Albion were 30 at half time against West Ham United in the 2010/11 season. The game ended in a 33 draw.

The 2011 League Cup Semi Final between Birmingham City and West Ham United. After the first half of the second leg had been played, Birmingham were 31 down on aggregate, 1-0 down on the night. They pulled it back to 33 in the second half, and then scored the winning goal in extra time to progress to the final.

The FA Cup final, 2006, Liverpool vs West Ham. West Ham went 20 up thanks to Dean Ashton and a Jamie Carragher own goal. Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse made it 21 at half time, and captain Steven Gerrard equalised shortly after the restart. Then, West Ham left back Paul Konchesky scored a freak goal with a cross-shot (he probably meant it as a cross, but it ended up as a shot). The match went into injury time and both teams could barely move. Cue Steven Gerrard, who had looked injured just before that, getting the ball 35 yards out and promptly drilling it into the bottom corner to make it 33. As with the Champions League final the previous year, they won on penalties.

February 5th, 2011. Newcastle vs Arsenal at St James' Park. Arsenal take an early lead and are 40 up after 26 minutes. With less than 25 minutes left, Arsenal are still 40 up. Newcastle pulled back to 44.

September 7th, 2011. Philadelphia Union trail New England Revolution 41 in an MLS game. Philadelphia comes back to tie the game 44, with the game-tying goal scored during stoppage time.

13 May 2012, the final day of the Premier League season. Manchester City vs. Queens Park Rangers. City has a chance to clinch their first title since 1968 with a win. QPR leads 2-1 going into five minutes of stoppage time. Edin Dzeko scores the equaliser in minute 92, but meanwhile, City's crosstown rivals United beat Sunderland to apparently snatch the trophy. Cue Sergio Aguero scoring the winner for City, on the very last kick of the season, to win the championship, in what can only be described as a Crowning Moment of Awesome for the entire sport of football.

In the last 16 of the 2012 Champions League, Chelsea were trailing Napoli 31 from the first leg, only to win 4-1 in extra time. Then, in the semifinals, they were 20 down against Barcelona and down to ten men, and they salvaged a 22 draw with a dramatic stoppage time equalizer. (Although a 21 loss would still have seen them through on away goals)

Arsenal-Reading, October 30, 2012 in the Fourth Round of the League Cup. Reading puts in four goals in thirty-seven minutes to take a 4-0 lead. At the end of the first half, Walcott puts in a goal to send it to halftime at 41. In the 65th, Giroud puts one in, 42. Things look over, but in the 89th, Koscielny puts one in. 43 at 90. Four minutes of injury time are signaled. Two minutes of extra injury time are allowed, due to Reading taking their sweet time on a sub. This causes some controversy, but at 90+6, Walcott equalizes at literally the last minute, 44 and Full Time is blown. The game is sent to extra time. At 103, Chamakh puts in Arsenal's first lead of the day at 4-5. Pogrebnyak manages to equalize for Reading at 115. However, at 120, Walcott puts in his hat trick, putting it up 65 for Arsenal. Two minutes of injury time signaled. Then, at 120+2, Chamakh puts in another. Full time blown. Final score, 75 Arsenal.

Teams escaping relegation in the English Premier League sometimes pull one off. In particular, pulling this off having been bottom on Christmas is termed 'The Great Escape', having survived the 'Curse of Christmas' where where a Premier League club that was bottom on Christmas would be relegated at the end of the season:

West Bromwich Albion in 2004/05 not only became the first team since Sheffield United in 1990/91 to stay up after being bottom on Christmas, they also remain the only team in the Premier League era to be bottom both on Christmas and going into the final day, and still survive. While they were never more than 5 points adrift of safety (which they were during Christmas and as late as March 18), they were still the first to break the curse. Going into the final day, none of the relegation places were decided in the closest relegation dogfight since 1927/28. West Brom were the only team from the bottom four to win, leapfrogging the other three teams and surviving with the lowest ever points tally (34) in the 3 points for a win era.

Sunderland in 2013/14 were bottom, 7 points from safety with 6 games to go. Gus Poyet commented that he needed a miracle in order to survive. Well, there then followed a 2-2 draw with Man City, and then wins against Man Utd and Chelsea (at Stamford Bridge!). End result, 13 points scored in those 6 games! As a result, Sunderland stayed up, becoming only the second club to survive the curse. Fittingly, the last team that lost against them during this streak was West Brom. Poyet later remarked that he had "found his miracle."

In the 2014/15 season, Leicester City began the month of April 2015 with 19 points from 29 games, and 7 points away from safety. They won 7 and drew 1 of their remaining 9 games, roaring back to take 14th in the table and ensure survival for the next season; prior to this no team with fewer than 20 points after 29 games survived (West Brom had 21 and Sunderland had 25 during their escapes). A few news sources also couldn't help noticing that Leicester's remarkable turnaround began right after the reburial of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral. Incredibly, the team kept the momentum going and went on to surprise virtually everyone by winning the 2015/16 league title ahead of traditional powers Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United. It was one of the most dramatic Dark Horse Victories in English sporting history. This is demonstrated by a strange statistic: Leicester City are the first team since Norwich in 1987-88 and 1988-89, and the first in the Premier League era to be bottom of the table one Christmas, and top of it the next.

In the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League, Paris Saint Germain thumped Barcelona 4-0 at home in the first leg of a last 16 tie. No team had ever recovered from a four-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League. In the second leg, Barcelona scored three goals before PSG hit back to make it 3-1, with an away goal that meant Barcelona now needed to win by five to progress. The next Barcelona goal came in the 88th minute, with two more in injury time to make it 6-1, and a 6-5 win on aggregate.

In Italy's Serie A for the first time in its history in 2016-17, Crotone, from Calabria, were in the bottom 3 from the 2nd round of the season to the last - they earned only 2 points from their first 10 games, and at the 29th game, they had only 3 wins and 14 points. However, their last 9 games saw 6 wins and 2 draws, and a last-game win over Lazio was accompanied by Empoli losing their final game to already-relegated Palermo, allowing Crotone to overtake them at the last and leave the bottom 3 for the first time since the opening game. Their manager Davide Nicola cycled the length of Italy to celebrate, and in tribute to his teenage son, who was killed in an accident when cycling 3 years earlier.

Baseball

The all-time record for biggest deficit overcome in a Major League Baseball game is 12 runs, occuring on August 5, 2001. The Cleveland Indians trailed the Seattle Mariners 142 in the seventh inning before coming back to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th and win 1514 in 11 innings. And this was a Mariners team that won 116 games that year, good enough to tie the all-time Major League record.

The all-time record for biggest ninth-inning deficit overcome is believed to be nine runs, done by the Detroit Tigers in, amazingly, their very first game as a major-league franchise. On April 25, 1901, the Tigers scored ten runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Milwaukee Brewers (not the modern-day Brewers, but the franchise that eventually became the St. Louis Browns and then the Baltimore Orioles), 1413. The biggest 9th inning comeback in modern-day history (post-1920) occurred on August 21, 1990, when the Phillies scored nine in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Dodgers 1211.

The 2007 Colorado Rockies won 13 of their last 14 regular-season games just to force a tie with San Diego for the wild card lead, made even more unbelievable by the fact that the Padres were one strike away from clinching a playoff spot with one game to spare before Trevor Hoffman, then the all-time saves leader,note since surpassed by Mariano Rivera gave up a game-tying triple to Tony Gwynn Jr. (for those who don't know, Tony Gwynn Sr. was "Mr. Padre.") Then the Padres took an 86 lead in the top of the 13th inning of the one-game playoff. The Rockies won (on an extremely controversial run from Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday; review appeared to show that he never touched home plate and even Holliday had his doubts that he did  Padres fans are still pissed about this and it had fueled the fire of their rivalry). Then they swept their first two playoff opponents for an overall 21-1 run from September 16th to October 15th. Repeat: from the middle of September to the middle of October, the Rockies had 21 winsand only 1 loss. Then subverted in the World Series, where the Rockies were blown away by the Boston Red Sox in 4 games by an aggregate score of 2910.

The 2004 ALCS. The Boston Red Sox became the first and only team in baseball history (and only the third team in any North American professional sport) to overcome a three games to none deficit to win a best of seven series. To add to the drama, after being thrashed 198 in Game 3 to go down 30 in the series, the Red Sox were three outs away from being swept in Game 4, and the Yankees had on the mound arguably the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history, Mariano Rivera. The Red Sox managed to tie and eventually win Game 4, outlasted the Yankees in a 14-inning marathon in Game 5, then went to New York to take Games 6 and 7 and the series. And as if that wasn't brilliant enough, they did this on their way to the first Red Sox World Series victory in 86 years. Why hasn't this movie been made yet?

And then the city of Boston comprehensively and quite spectacularly lost its collective shit. Heck, the entire New England region started whooping and hollering. That series made the actual World Series that year (where the Sox easily swept the St. Louis Cardinals) look anticlimactic.

The 2013 season was similar. The Red Sox were last in the American League at the beginning of the season. But then, a terrorist bombing occurred during the Boston Marathon, killing three people and maiming dozens. The Sox were instrumental in helping the city rally together, and Boston not only won the World Series (strangely enough, against the St. Louis Cardinals yet again), but it was their first World Series clincher on home turf at Fenway Park since 1918.

The "Shot Heard 'Round the World"  the 1951 N.Y. Giants may have had the LONGEST Miracle Rally in all of sports, lasting several weeks. On August 11 they were 13½ games back of the Brooklyn Dodgers. They then won 16 straight games from August 12 to August 27, cutting their deficit to just six games. By September 20, it was just 4½ games. Over the season's last 10 days, they won all of their last seven games to pull into a tie when the season ended, while the Dodgers lost six of their last ten games over the same point. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, in the last game of a three game tiebreaker series, Bobby Thomson hits a walk-off home run to win the pennant. Considered one of the most dramatic moments in all of Baseball history.

The 1978 New York Yankees were at one point 14½ games behind Boston and in fourth place in the division. They then went to take a lead in the division, but Boston didn't just go away. Holding a one-game lead with seven games left, the Yankees proceeded to go 61. The Red Sox won all seven, forcing a tie on the final day of the season. The one-game playoff that followed was representative of the season as a whole, with the Red Sox taking an early lead, the Yankees bouncing back late, and the Red Sox making a rally of their own but falling just short.

2008 ALCS Game 5. Up three games to one, the Tampa Bay Rays scored two runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 70. Book them for the World Series, right? Not so fast! With two outs and a runner on second, the Boston Red Sox got back-to-back singles, followed by a home run. 7-4. Next inning, another home run cuts it to 7-6 with none out, but the next two get out. Double, then single after a 13 pitch at bat. 77 game after eight innings. After a double play allowed the Red Sox to escape the top of the ninth without allowing a run, they again proceeded to end up with two out and none on, before a single and an error put a runner on second. After an intentional walk to set up the force, they single in the run to win 8-7 after trailing 7-0 with only seven outs left. They then won Game 6 before finally losing in seven games.

On September 28, 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays became two of the most improbable examples ever of teams rallying their way into a playoff spot (and beyond):

On August 25th, 2011, the Cardinals were 10½ games back in the NL Wild Card race. In just a month's time, they managed to go 22-8 and, thanks to a 9-17 September collapse by the Atlanta Braves (and a good luck necklace given to manager Tony La Russa by Carlos Santana), they drew even with one game to play. The Cards took care of business against the Houston Astros. The Braves... squandered a 31 lead with the Phillies plugging single-run innings in the 7th, 9th, and 13th. Cards advance without needing extra innings or a tiebreaker!

And then, they went on to beat the heavily-favored Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers to reach the World Series against the Texas Rangers, who had been in the World Series the previous year. In Game 6, the Rangers were one out away from winning the series four games to two, when David Freese hit a triple that tied the game at 7. Then, in the 10th inning, Lance Berkman tied up the game at 9 when the Rangers again needed only one out to win, before Freese homered in the 11th for St. Louis to win the game 109. The Cards went on to win the World Series the next day, capping off the Miracle Rally that began just over two months ago.

Altogether, the Cardinals had a .006% chance of winning the World Series. And yet they won.

At the same time, the Rays, who were 9 games back of the then-division-leading Boston Red Sox on September 1st, won 6 out of 7 games against the Red Sox that month (they went 10-9 otherwise) which, along with the Red Sox's 719 (Tampa Bay games included) collapse, resulted in the two AL East rivals being tied for the Wild Card spot heading in to the final day. Tampa Bay rallied from a 7-0 deficit against the New York Yankees to win 87 (scoring all their runs in the 8th and 9th innings), while the Sox squandered a 32 lead against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the ninth and lost 43. The Rays advanced, and Boston's season ended.

In 1 hour and 40 minutes, the Red Sox and Braves were out of the playoffs, and the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays were in. A short timeline is below:

8:52 pm Eastern in Tampa Bay: Andruw Jones hits a home run to put the Yankees up 70 on the Rays in the fifth inning.

9:34 pm Eastern in Baltimore: The Baltimore-Boston game goes into a rain delay in the seventh inning. The score is Boston 3, Baltimore 2, and if the game cannot resume, it will be declared a rain-shortened Boston victory and the Red Sox will at least get an additional game and would win the wild card outright if Tampa is unable to come back from their 7-run deficit.

9:56 pm Eastern in Atlanta: Philadelphia's Chase Utley hits a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 3.

10:17 pm Eastern in Tampa Bay: Yankees' reliever Luis Ayala walks Sam Fuld with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 8th, ending the shutout. The Rays still trail 71.

10:23 pm Eastern in Tampa Bay: Rays' third baseman Evan Longoria hits a home run in the bottom of the 8th; the score is now Yankees 7, Rays 6.

10:26 pm Eastern in Houston: Cardinals defeat the hapless Astros 80. At this point, they'd need the Braves to lose to have the wild card outright. If the Braves won, they'd have to play an additional game to determine the National League wild card seed.

10:47 pm Eastern in Tampa Bay: Dan Johnson, pinch-hitting for the Rays, hits a home run to tie the game. That was Johnson's first hit since the first month of the season.

10:58 pm Eastern in Baltimore: Play resumes.

11:28 pm Eastern in Atlanta: Hunter Pence scores in the 13th inning for the Philadelphia Phillies to take a 43 lead.

11:40 pm Eastern in Atlanta: Game over. Braves are out, Cardinals are in.

11:59 pm Eastern in Baltimore: The Orioles' Nolan Reimold ties the game, and it's now 33.

12:02 am Eastern in Baltimore: Robert Andino hits a game-winning single, Orioles win 43; it's the backup shortstop's 7th RBI against Boston in the last eight days. The Red Sox now need Rays to lose to force an additional game for the American League wild card seed.

Remember: Tampa Bay was losing 70 with six outs to go in Game 162 against the juggernaut Yankees. They had to pull a Miracle Rally just to pull off their September Miracle Rally! It was like a Major League movie come to life (and no team before had ever rallied from such a deficit in the final game of the season to get into the playoffs).

The Sox, meanwhile, were 89-0 when leading after 8 innings that year, with closer Jonathan Papelbon facing the bottom of the hapless O's lineup with two outs and no one on.

This whole ordeal was Harsher in Hindsight for the Rays and Yankees. Both teams lost in the AL Division Series to the Rangers and Tigers, respectively. "Game 162" was meaningless for the Yankees; they had already won the AL East and were in the playoffs win or lose.

It's also this for the Braves when you remember that the Cardinals ended up winning the title.

And the historical capper: Both Boston and Atlanta set the mark for biggest blown September leads in baseball history. The Red Sox led the Rays for the AL Wild Card by 9 games on September 3rd, the Braves led the Cardinals for the NL wild card by 8.5, and no team had ever squandered such a commanding lead in September, with their mathematical odds of reaching the playoffs each being over 99%. Since the Red Sox are the more famous franchise and were the favorites to win it all after adding superstar Carl Crawford, they grabbed most of the headlines, much to the small consolation of the Braves, who have been one of the main victims in MLB of this trope since the 90s.

Similar to the 2011 examples, the 2002 Anaheim Angels had a remarkable comeback. In Game 6 of the World Series that year, the Angels were facing elimination. They were down 50 to the San Francisco Giants going into the bottom of the 7th inning with San Francisco leading the series, 32. Then, Giants manager Dusty Baker removed starting pitcher Russ Ortiz after he gave up back to back hits to Troy Glaus and Brad Fullmer. During the pitching change, the fans went into a frenzy when the Rally Monkey appeared on the Jumbo Tron.

The rally continued into the bottom of the eighth inning. After Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly held San Francisco scoreless in the top of the eighth, Baker decided to use one of his most effective relievers, Tim Worrell. On his third pitch of the inning, Worrell surrendered a solo home run to leadoff batter Darin Erstad to make it a one-run game. Worrell then proceeded to give up a single to Tim Salmon, and then one to Garret Anderson. After Barry Bonds made an error on the latter hit, Anderson took second while Chone Figgins (who pinch-ran for Salmon) went to third. With nobody out, two runners in scoring position, and their lead now down to 54, Baker removed Worrell and brought in his closer, Robb Nen, to pitch to Troy Glaus, hoping that Nen could somehow find a way to preserve the Giants slim lead. But, on a 21 pitch, Glaus hit a fly ball over Bonds head for a double, which drove in the tying and go ahead runs.

Finally, the comeback was completed when Angels closer Troy Percival retired the first three batters in the top of the ninth to preserve the victory with the final score of 65. The Angels then went on to win game 7 the following night, and with it, the World Series.

Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Mets were down 53 with nobody on base and were just one strike away from losing the series. Three singles, a wild pitch, and an infamous error later, and the series was tied. Then they trailed 30 in Game 7 before rallying to win that one as well.

The 2012 San Francisco Giants pulled this off twice in the playoffs, echoing back to the 2004 Boston Red Sox, although they didn't quite match them. First, in the National League Division Series, the Giants fell behind two games to none against the Cincinnati Reds, with the final three games on the road; no team had fallen behind 0-2 and come back to win in such a scenario. Well, cue the Giants doing it. In the National League Championship Series, the Giants started well, with a 1-1 tie going to St. Louis. However, St. Louis took a 3-1 lead at home. But the Giants rose to the occasion again, winning another three games in a row to clinch a berth to the World Series, where they swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series for the second time in three years.

In the 2012 regular season, the Oakland A's pulled one off. They were down by more than five games with a little more than a month left to play in the AL West, behind the defending division and league champs, the Texas Rangers. Partly due to the Rangers failing, and the A's rising to the occasion, they managed to tie the Rangers in the division race on the second-to-last day (after being down 4 games with 6 to play a week earlier), making the game in Oakland against the Rangers the next day the Division Title game, which they won. However, in their playoff run, they were defeated by the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS.

It was the second to last game of the 2011 and the Arizona Diamondbacks were down 61 to the Dodgers with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the 10th. Through the sheer luck of an infield single, the snakes managed to string together hits until the the bases were loaded on a 63 score. Third baseman Ryan Roberts managed to deposit the first pitch he saw into the stands for a walk-off grand slam. Subverted in that they lost the #2 spot in the playoffs the following night (but not without another near rally).

In a Minor League game (The A-ball Midwest League, specifically) between the Clinton Lumberkings and Burlington Bees had Burlington take a 171 lead in the bottom of the 5th, only for Clinton to score 6 runs in the 6th, 5 in the 8th, and 5 in the 9th to tie the game at 17 and send it to extra innings, with Clinton eventually winning 2017.

The 2015 Kansas City Royals were all about this trope. Following a heartbreaking World Series loss in the previous season, they showed utter resilience in fighting back when trailing.

In the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, they fell behind in the series 2-1 going into game 4 in Houston. Following a series of RBI's (including 2 home runs) from Carlos Correa, as well as a solo shot from Colby Rasmus, the Royals faced a 62 deficit. The Royals then opened the top of the eighth with five straight base hits off of relievers Will Harris and Tony Sipp, with Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer having RB Is to make it 64. The game was tied following an error by Correa, and an Alex Gordon groundout scored the go ahead run. Hosmer added a two-run home run in the top of the ninth for insurance, and the Royals held on to force Game 5, (which they ultimately won).

Next, they took on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. After winning game 1, the Royals fell behind Toronto 30 in game 2, but scored six runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win the game 63. The Royals eventually defeated the Blue Jays in six games to capture their second consecutive pennant.

Then, facing off against the New York Mets in the World Series, Kansas City had several big rallies. After a tightly contested game 1, the Royals trailed in the ninth inning 43, and facing dominant Mets closer, Jeurys Familia. With the Mets only 2 outs from winning game 1, Familia surrendered a game-tying home run to Alex Gordon, handing the closer his first blown save since July 30th. The game went on for 14 innings, until Eric Hosmer won in with a sacrifice fly.

After the teams split the next two games, Game 4 had the Royals doing more of their comeback magic. In the top of the eigth, with New York leading 32, Mets pitcher Tyler Clippard got the first out, then walked two straight batters to force manager Terry Collins to bring Familia in early. Eric Hosmer proceeded to hit a ground ball that was misplayed by Mets second basemen Daniel Murphy, which allowed the tying run to score. Mike Moustakas immediately followed with a single that scored another run to put Kansas City up 43, and then another run scored on a hit by Salvador Perez. The Royals held the Mets scoreless to win Game 4, putting them only one game away from taking the series. In Game 5, the Royals were held scoreless to a dominant performance from Mets pitcher Matt Harvey. In the top of the ninth, with the Mets up 20, Harvey argued with Terry Collins to be allowed to finish the game, despite that he had thrown over 100 pitches. Harvey then gave up a leadoff walk to Lorenzo Cain, who stole second, then scored on a double by Eric Hosmer. Jeurys Familia came in again, and retired Mike Moustakas on a groundout that advanced Hosmer to third. The next batter, Salvador Perez hit a ground ball to Mets third baseman David Wright, who threw to first to retire Perez. But Hosmer broke for home the minute Wright threw the ball, and scored on a throwing error from first baseman Lucas Duda. Sent into extra innings, the Royals held the Mets scoreless. In the top of the twelfth, Kansas City blew the game open with 5 runs to make it 72. The Royals won Game 5, and their first World Series since 1985.

In the 2016 regular season, the San Diego Padres led the Seattle Mariners 122 after scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the 5th... only to watch that lead immediately evaporate as the Mariners scored 5 in the 6th to bring it to 127, then 9 in the 7th, at one point stringing together 7 consecutive hits with two outs in the inning. The Mariners ultimately won 1613.

In the 2016 World Series the Cleveland Indians managed to create a 3 games to 1 lead against the Chicago Cubs. But the Cubs fought back forcing the Series into Game 7, with the Cubs winning 8-7 ending their 108 year drought.

Basketball

The NC State basketball team that won the 1983 NCAA men's championship was nicknamed "The Cardiac Pack" because they staged a miracle rally with a last second score almost every single game. They won their nine tournament games by the following margins: 1, 7note overtime, 3, 2note double-overtime, 1, 19, 1, 7, and 2. That's an average margin of victory of less than five points.

In Game 4 of the 2008 Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, the Lakers were trailing the Celtics 21 in the best-of-seven series after winning Game 3. In Game 4, the Lakers jumped to a high and early lead, going up to 24 points at one point in the first half and leading by 20 points in the third quarter. Celtics coach Doc Rivers made defensive adjustments, he told his team to play defense, and the Lakers, who'd had trouble completing third quarters, didn't play with the energy they'd brought to the first half. The Celtics chipped away at the Lakers' lead, despite the Lakers' attempts to keep it back up, and Boston won 9791 to take a 31 series lead, which was practically a death sentence for the Lakers' season; only eight teams have come back from that deficit, and none had done it in the NBA Finals up to that point in time.

How could anyone forget Tracy McGrady's miracle 13 points in 35 seconds? With his team down 7668, everyone (even the Rockets fans at the arena) assumed that the Spurs would win simply by making their free throws. They did, but McGrady did a lot more. He made one heavily contested three to make it 7671 with 35 seconds left. The next trip up, down 7871, he faked a 3 and got Tim Duncan (a great, intelligent defender) to foul him and HIT THE SHOT as well as the resulting free throw, putting the Rockets down 7875. The next trip up, in true climactic fashion, the Rockets were just barely able to get the ball inbounds to McGrady (with no timeouts left). He drained ANOTHER three to make it 8078. On the next trip up for the Spurs, Devin Brown lost the ball and McGrady was (conveniently to almost an uncanny degree) right there to pick the ball up, travel the length of the court and hit the game-winning three with 1.7 seconds left. Unarguably the quintessential example of this trope. Seems like something out of a movie, doesn't it? Each three-pointer McGrady hit was tougher and/or more heavily contested than the last, then you throw in the drama of the Rockets having to throw him a jump-ball on the inbound AND the highly improbable occurrence of Devin Brown losing the ball and McGrady being the closest player to it, coming up and burying the game-winner like a cold-blooded assassin. The only thing that could have made it more cinema-like was if McGrady's last shot was a buzzer-beater.

In the 2001 NCAA College Basketball contest between Duke and the University of Maryland, Duke was down 9080 with 54 seconds left and came back to win in what is known as the Miracle Minute.

Syracuse rallies not once, not twice, not three times, not four, but five times to send the game into another overtime before pulling away in the sixth. The Orange actually led at multiple points during regulation (heck, it was Connecticut that scored the final points of regulation), but each of the first five overtimes had Connecticut take the lead and 'Cuse unable to do anything but answer.

May 7, 1995. The Indiana Pacers are trailing the New York Knicks 10599 in the final moments of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Then Reggie Miller scores 8 points in 8.9 seconds. Three pointer, steal, another three, and two free throws. This is a bafflingly incredible feat in and of itself, but teammates, opposing players, coaches, and analysts alike were especially amazed that Reggie had the presence of mind to take two steps back and go for a 3 to tie the game after stealing the ball.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta on November 25, 1977. Atlanta led 11182 with 8:43 left when Milwaukee went on a 354 run to win 117115. This is the largest 4th quarter deficit overcome in NBA history.

The Utah Jazz trailed the Denver Nuggets 7034 at home with 20 seconds left in the 1st half, but outscored Denver 7333 during the rest of the game to win 107103. This is the largest overall deficit overcome in NBA history.

Israeli basketball state cup, 2007-2008: European and local juggernaut, Maccabi Tel Aviv (then five-time Euroleague champion, 9-time finalist, 49-times Israeli champion, 39-times Israeli cup holder, with general dominance over the entire league), coming off a ten-win streak (both local league and Euroleague), faced off against Hapoel Jerusalem - who, at the time, was 3rd place in the Israeli league. Like most people had expected, by the end of the 3rd quarter, Maccabi was leading comfortably - about 20 points in her favor. But then, as the 4th quarter began, Hapoel started to score, again and again, stealing every other ball, doing amazing feats (such as a 5'11" point guard stealing the ball from over a 6'9" center) putting up an incredible defense and slicing through the points gap. By the end of the fourth quarter, Hapoel had done a 3816 run and won the cup, 9389.

College basketball, February 16, 2012, Duke vs. NC State. Duke trailed NC State 6141 with 11:30 left, but came back to win 7873.

December 30, 1950. Tulane leads Duke 5422. Duke then commences the greatest comeback in NCAA history to win 7472.

February 15, 1994, Kentucky at LSU. Kentucky was down 6837 with 15:34 left. Remember, this was in Baton Rouge. Then, the Wildcats start hitting from three-point land and outscore the Tigers 6227 the rest of the game to win 9995.

Or February 9, 1999, Princeton at Penn. Princeton opens the game with a 3... and Penn responds with 29 unanswered points. The Quakers are up 339 at the half, and 4013 with 15 minutes left. Then the Tigers start hitting everything and the Quakers become unglued, a little more than 8 minutes later, it's 4236. And then, with less than a minute left, 5049 Princeton. Penn had one last chance to win, but a baseline jumper clanged off the rim. While in points it might not match Kentucky's 1994 comeback against LSU, this was in a much lower-scoring game... UK scored more points in their comeback than either Princeton or Penn scored in the entire game.

Game 1 of the Clippers/Grizzlies playoff series in 2012. The Clippers were down as by much as 27 points (8255). Coach Vinnie Del Negro almost decided to bench Chris Paul and the other starters and give up the gamenote They were still down 9571 with 8:00 left, but Paul convinced Del Negro to give them a chance to win the game. This was the result. Of special note is Nick Young, who hit three 3 pointers in a row.

The Oklahoma City Thunder seemed to make a habit out of this during the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

Game 6, Western Conference Finals vs. Spurs: Thunder trail by as much as 18 and are still behind 6348 at halftime before winning 10799.

Game 1, NBA Finals vs. Heat: Thunder trail 3926, win 10594.

On April 22, 2012, the Thunder were the victims of a big comeback. They led the Los Angeles Lakers by 16 points entering the fourth quarter before the Lakers rallied to tie it, eventually winning in double overtime.

The then-recently-added 4-game first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament (don't call them "play-in games") hosted some major dramatics to begin the 2012 tournament, with BYU setting a tournament record for largest deficit ever overcome, beating Iona 7872 in the second game of the first day after trailing 49-24 at one point in the first half. It wasn't even the most miraculous comeback of the night. In the opener of the tournament, after a rather evenly-played first half, Mississippi Valley State started to pull away, a layup with just over 5 minutes left giving them their largest lead of the game, 5337. Western Kentucky then held them scoreless for the next three minutes and rallied to win 5958, the losing team's final two points coming as time expired.

On January 24, 2013, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) basketball team was hosting Florida Atlantic University. FAU, at one point, led by as much as 22 points and was still ahead 3719 at the half, but UALR rallied to win 6562.

During Game 3 of the 2002 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics trailed the New Jersey Nets 7453 at the end of the 3rd quarter (they had trailed 6539 at one point). After getting a very stern (and apparently colorful) talking-to from point guard Antoine Walker, the Celtics rallied to complete the biggest 4th quarter comeback in NBA playoff history at the time, outscoring the Nets 4116 to win 9490. The win gave them a 21 lead in the series. The Nets then won the next 3 games, advancing to the Finals and eventual defeat at the hands of the L.A. Lakers.

In the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Northern Iowa seemed to have Texas A&M dead to rights, leading by 12 with under 45 seconds left. Many teams in the Aggies' situation would accept that their season was over and call off the dogs, but Texas A&M didn't and, with the help of four Northern Iowa turnovers, managed to tie the game and win in OT. The craziest thing? Northern Iowa actually made a basket of their own during this blitz, meaning that A&M actually had to score 14 points to complete the comeback! March Madness indeed.

The next weekend, Syracuse did this in the Elite Eight. They were a 10 seed some commentators thought shouldn't even be in the tournament.note Louisville likely would've been in instead of them, but they self-imposed a postseason ban because of a recruiting scandal. Taking on 1 seed Virginia (a team in the same conference, who had beaten them in the last three regular season meetings), Syracuse was down fourteen points at halftime. Then the Orange used a full-court press to derail the Cavaliers, and win by six.

Series Comeback for 2016: The Cavaliers were down 20 and later 31 in the NBA Finals. Only 3 teams had come back from a 20 deficit to win the NBA Finals (1969 Celtics, 1977 Trail Blazers, 2006 Heat); none had rallied from a 31 deficit in the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers were facing the defending champion Golden State Warriors, a team that went 739 to set a new record for most regular season wins by one game, had blitzed to a new record of 24 straight wins to open the season, had recovered from their own 31 deficit in the previous round (against the OKC Thunder) and had the first unanimous MVP in NBA history, with Stephen Curry capturing his second MVP in as many years. Naturally, as is the nature of this page, the Cavaliers captured all three of the remaining games, with Games 5 and 7 taking place in Golden State's Oracle Arena.

Ice Hockey

The famed 'Miracle on Ice', the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics Men's Ice Hockey, where an underdog American team of amateurs and college players took on the reigning Soviet champions (some of whom were active-duty military), coming back from a 32 deficit with two goals in the final period, winning 43. Why yes, we DO believe in miracles! They went on to do this again in the final match for gold, beating Finland 42 after being down 21 at the start of the third period.

The feat of overturning a 30 deficit in a seven-game series has been achieved five times in North American sport, and the remaining four have all been in the playoffs for The Stanley Cup, ice hockey's top prize:

In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost the first three games of the Stanley Cup final series against the Detroit Red Wings, only to turn things around in the remaining four games, making the Maple Leafs the only team to overturn a 30 deficit in the final series for any major North American sport.

In 1975, in only their third year as an NHL franchise, and having finished stone dead last in their first two years, the New York Islanders reached their first seven-game playoff series, playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in their conference semi-final series. The Islanders did not so much as take the lead in their first three games, but then turned the tables and prevented the Penguins from so much as taking the lead in the following four games. (They very nearly repeated the feat against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals, losing the first three games but winning the next three before losing the decider.)

In the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Philadelphia Flyers lost the first three games to the Boston Bruins. The Flyers proceeded to rally back and win the next three games (with their backup goalie, no less, because the regular starter was injured in Game 4) to force a Game 7. The Bruins struck quickly and rallied to a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 7, but then the Flyers' coach called timeout to rally the troops. The Flyers scored a goal before the end of the first period, and then two more in the second to tie the game. In the third period, Boston took a too many men on the ice penalty, putting the Flyers on the power play. The Flyers proceeded to score on the power play and hold onto the 43 lead, making them not only the third team to win a playoff series after losing the first three games, but also the third team to rally back from a three goal deficit in Game 7.

The 2014 Pacific Division Semifinals pitted the San Jose Sharks against their California rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks romped to a 30 series lead with emphatic wins in Games 1 and 2 and an overtime victory in Game 3, but then the Kings came back to win the remaining four games by a combined score of 185.

The Miracle on Manchester. In Game 3 of their best-of-5 division semi-final against the Los Angeles Kings in 1982, the Edmonton Oilers, who were the No.1 seed and were led by such rising stars as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, rocketed to a 50 lead (including two short-handed goals) by the end of the second period. In the final twenty minutes, the Kings pulled level, with three goals coming in the last five and a half minutes and the equalising goal coming with just five seconds left. In overtime, Messier nearly scored a winning goal for the Oilers within seconds thanks to an error of judgement by Kings goaltender Mario Lessard, but it was Daryl Evans who scored the winner for Los Angeles after two and a half minutes. The Kings won the series 32 to advance to the division final, where they lost to the Vancouver Canucks in 5 games.

In the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Boston Bruins had blown a 31 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs. In game seven, they were down 41 with just over ten minutes left. They scored three goals, including two in the last minute and a half with the goalie pulled, to tie it and won in OT.

Other Sports

Tennis examples:

The Wimbledon 2011 Quarter Final pitched Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against 6-time winner and arguably the greatest player of all time, Roger Federer. Federer had beaten Tsonga before and built up a convincing 2-set lead. The commentators were already talking as though Federer had won. Then Tsonga took the third set. And the fourth. And then he finished it off, 36, 67, 64, 64, 64. This was the first time that Federer had EVER lost a match after going two sets up. It was the shock of the tournament.

Federer has had his fair share of miracle rallies too, coming back from two sets to love 8 times in his career, notably during Wimbledon 2012 when he was just two points from losing the match.

Novak Djokovic has become well-known for his ability to pull stunning comebacks out of nowhere just when things look hopeless for him. The best example of this is his 2011 US Open semifinal against none other than Roger Federer: Federer won the first two sets only for Djokovic to win the next two sets with relative ease. Federer wasn't quite finished yet, however, and he surged to a 53 lead in the fifth set with two match points lined up ... only for Djokovic to save both match points and proceed to reel off four straight games to clinch a spot in the finals.

In women's tennis, Serena Williams is well-known for this. The most impressive example probably being the match against Victoria Azarenka in the 2010 Australian Open quarter-final, where she went on to win having trailed 4-6, 0-4 at one point.

Julio Cesar Chavez, having been badly outboxed by Meldrick Taylor and needing a knockout to win their bout, manages to knock Taylor down with 15 seconds left in the final round. Taylor gets up, but stares blankly at the ref when asked twice if he was ok and could continue, so the ref stops the bout... with two seconds left.

You want to see a real-life equivalent of the Racing Game examples in The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard? Watch the 2008 Olympic Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay. This was thought to be the toughest obstacle to Michael Phelps's quest for eight gold medals, as the French were favored over the US. While the US had Phelps lead off the race, France saved their best swimmer, world record-holdernote Official individual world records can only be set in the first leg of a relay or in a non-relay. Bernard held the 100m record as of the start of the race, though it was broken in the first leg of this relay by Australia's Eamon Sullivan. Bernard took back the record in the semifinals of the 100m free a few days later only to immediately have Sullivan best him again—with a time of 47.05 seconds Alain Bernard, for the anchor. The French also had a solid lead as Bernard entered the pool. Jason Lezak then put up a performance for the ages, finishing his split in just 46.06 seconds, more than a full second better than the 100m world record at the time, to get the USA the win by a mere .08 seconds. France would have their revenge in the 2012 Olympics, with USA's Ryan Lochte being handed a lead much like Bernard's and France pulling off the win.

State of Origin is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between teams representing the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. Queensland have managed at least two miracle rallies in the tournament's history:

In Game II in 1989, Queensland lost players to a broken leg, a fractured eye socket, an elbow injury, and a bruised shoulder to completely use up their substitutes for the match; a fifth player, Bob Lindner, played on with a fractured ankle until five minutes before the end, leaving Queensland with 12 men. They still held on for a win.

In Cricket, Michael Bevan of Australia made his reputation by doing this repeatedly. The most famous instances were:

The New Years Day One Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground against the West Indies in 1996. With the Australians at one stage 6 for 38 chasing 173, his unbeaten 150-minute 78 got the Australians over the line with a four on the last ball of the innings.

Two matches in the 2003 World Cup: In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48 for 4. He then was joined by Andy Bichel at 135 for 8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia managed to win in the final over. In the Super 6 stage, he made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84 for 7, again batting with Bichel, to help Australia win.

The emergence of Afghanistan as a cricketing nation surely qualifies. In 2008, they were in Division 5 of the World Cricket League, and fought their way up the ranks to compete in the qualifier for the 2011 World Cup. They didn't make it then, but they did gain ODI status in 2013, and qualified for the next World Cup in 2015. In 2017, they were granted Test Match status, qualifying for the highest level of the game in less than a decade.

2013 America's Cup sailing, first to nine wins. Oracle Team USA start with a two-race penalty for rules violations in a warmup event. Team New Zealand win eight of the first eleven races for a score of 81, and need one win to take the Cup. Oracle win eight straight races to claim a 98 victory.

Most famously, the 1970 Grand Final, where Carlton came back from 44 points down at half-time to beat Collingwood by 10 points. The game is something of a legend in Australian Rules cirles, mainly thanks to Ted Hopkins' performance in the second half.

Essendon's comeback against North Melbourne in 2001, where the Bombers came back from 69 points down to win by 12; the single biggest comeback in VFL/AFL history.

In 2014, Richmond were at one point on 3 wins and 10 losses. They won their last nine games of the regular season to gain entry into the finals with a record of 1210.

In the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird went from a distant last at the back stretch to winning by over six lengths.

Other

Both Teen Jeopardy! tournaments in the 06-07 season had the two-day final with one person down 25K+ dollars, then coming back to win on day two of the final. The first teen tournament showed David Waler beating the runaway victor of day one Ben Schenkel, and the second tournament had Meryl Federman come from third place to beat the day one victor Greg Peterson.

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